Elias Koteas
☼ Born on 11 December 1961, in Montréal, Québec, Canada
Biography Elias Koteas was born on March 11, 1961, in Montreal, Canada. Both his parents are of Greek descent. Elias attended Vanier College in Montreal before leaving to attend the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York City in 1981, of which he is a graduate. He also attended the Actors Studio in New York City, where he studied acting under Ellen Burstyn and Peter Masterson. His film debut was in One Magic Christmas (1985). He has also appeared on stage in "Kiss of the Spider Woman," "Death of a Salesman," "Bent" and "The Cherry Orchard." In 1989 he was nominated for a Genie (Canada's Academy Award) for best actor in Malarek (1988), a true story in which he plays a troubled street-kid-turned reporter for a Canadian newspaper. A somewhat of a breakthrough role for Elias happened in 1990, when he got the role of vigilante Casey Jones in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1990) and its sequels. He is one of Canada's most popular actors and frequently appears in films by Canadian directors Atom Egoyan and David Cronenberg. It was Cronenberg's controversial movie Crash (1996) that had Cannes all abuzz in 1996. Elias played Vaughan, a self-appointed "mad scientist" with an unusual fetish--sexual delight in car crashes! The past two years have been busy ones for Koteas, adding six more roles to his resume. As Capt. James Staros, the commanding officer of Charlie Company in The Thin Red Line (1998), he brought sensitivity and compassion to his portrayal of a man who cared about the safety  (click to expand) of his men--even at the risk of his own career. In 2000 he appeared in Lost Souls (2000), a thriller starring Winona Ryder, and starred on Broadway with Josh Brolin in the Sam Shepard play "True West."


In the role of actor

The Silent Planet – Blood in the Snow 2024 (23/11/2024)

This Review Was Originally Published As Part of Our Coverage of Fantasia 2024 Two strangers on a prison planet discover that they may have a tragic connection in The Silent Planet. Theodore (Elias Koteas) is a terminally ill convict, serving an isolated sentence on a silent mining planet, whose memory of life on Earth has […]

The Silent Planet – Fantasia 2024 (24/07/2024)

Two strangers on a prison planet discover that they may have a tragic connection in The Silent Planet. Theodore (Elias Koteas) is a terminally ill convict, serving an isolated sentence on a silent mining planet, whose memory of life on Earth has been steadily fading. Theodore’s isolated existence is disrupted by the arrival of a […]

Luba (23/03/2018)

A single mother tries to turn her life around, while dealing with her addict ex-husband in Luba. Luba (Nicole Maroon) is a single mother struggling to make ends meet, while raising her six year old son Matty (Porter Schaefer). At the same time, Luba has to deal with her ex-husband Donnie (Vladimir Jon Cubrt), who […]

Teenage (03/05/2013)

It has only been within the last century when the second stage of life, known as adolescence, began to be defined.  Before then, you were either known as a child or an adult and it was not uncommon to see children as young as 12 working in factories.  When child labour laws were introduced in […]

The Haunting in Connecticut (28/03/2009)

That haunted house film is probably one of the hardest subgenre of horror to do. How do you portray ghosts on film without it being cheesy? This film was a mixed bag for me. I found that I was very passive for most of the film, with scenes that were supposed to be scary getting […]

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (01/01/2009)

As we enter the new year, I am doing some catching up a few remaining 2008 films, mostly the ones that look to do well come awards season. One of the most notable of these films is The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. It’s interesting that this romantic fantasy was directed by David Fincher, who […]

Shooter (24/03/2007)

This weekend I was deciding between seeing this action thriller or checking out the big screen return of, my childhood favourites, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Well, I decided go for the more “grown up” of the two (though I still will still see that Ninja Turtles movie one way or the other). So, what […]